Zoids: Clouds of Fury
by Aeryn
Summary: Vega Obscura has come out of the shadows five years after the Royal Cup. Forming a close nit team he because a pawn for higher powers once again. But this time its up to him and the Blitz team to stop the Backdraft in there tracks. Or Zi will be destroyed


Well here is my first attempt at a Zoids fan fiction. I have tried most of everything else, however. I hope that I do a decent job of putting together the characters that you all love. This fiction is going to be based mostly on Vega and his struggles, but I am going bring in the loved Blitz team and there problems as well.

This story takes place five years after the Royal cup.

~Aeryn~

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids. If I did, I would not be a poor student.

Vega Obscura.

It was on the tongues of the Council of Seven once again. But this time, there was not ring of satisfaction, but of extreme loathing.

"Is there anyway to bring him back into our folds." An empty voice questioned. The face, as always, was hidden. No one knew who the Council of Seven were. It was rumored that even the Council was unaware of the six who sat among them.

"He has disappeared and there have been no traces. Sarah, his caretaker, has disappeared as well." Another voice, this times a female, whispered on the silent room.

Another voice, a deep growl, whispered its demand. "Can we, if 

they are found; bring him back into the Backdraft. We could use his Ultimate X as the back bone and rally around him."

A soft tenor gave the answer. "It is unlikely."

Silence for only a moment before the decision came. "If he does not return, then he must be destroyed."

~*~

Vega sat looking at the desert, much as he had a child and watched the tufts of grass wave in the wind. Leaning against the truck behind him he looked at the battle scarred ground and let a hint of a smile tug at his lips.

Five years ago he had fought Bit Cloud on this ground for the Championship of the Royal Crown. Five years ago he had taken a defeat that had almost ended his Zoid career.

The Backdraft had quickly disbanded, the ZBC hot on their tails, and he and Sarah were forced to move quickly. They had found an old secure and abandoned base and made it their home. The tattered remains of his partner had sat in a corner, collecting dust.

Slowly they fixed the place, restoring it to its once perfect function. Sarah had managed to steal several thousand in credits before they had left, and it had been used to ensure their survival, and the Berserk Fury had been forced to wait. 

Vega had done what he could, finding and scrounging parts in the sand. The Zoid was still only ¾ finished. Vega made sure to talk to it, and it still responded. The organoid inside it had not been damaged in the least, but its unshakable pride had, and it wanted revenge. 

Vega had noticed a subtle change in its attitude while it patiently waited for its repairs. The uncontrollable lust for damage had edged down in miniscule parts, almost too small to notice. But Vega was known for his abilities to see things others missed. And he noticed this with a hint of satisfaction. 

This meant that he and his partner were going to be even better.

If the Berserk Fury took the concentration it had been spending on anger and used it in battle tactics, then they were going to be unstoppable. 

Vega felt a smirk forming on his lips. "I am coming for you, Bit Cloud." The Fury answered with a loud growl. There was no hatred in the mind of Vega toward Bit, only a desire to beat him. 

Because Cloud had made it clear he was the best, and now it was his turn.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Vega wiped the smirk off his features. Sarah always worried about him, even though he was now a man at 17 instead of a little boy of twelve. 

"I have good news, Vega," Sarah told him, her tone still as gentle as it had always been. Unless he was using his Zoid in a way that was not in its best interest but it had been a long time since he had crawled into the cockpit of a Zoid. 

Vega turned and gave her his attention. He was several inches taller than she was now, and his form was corded with muscles that long hours of hard labor had given him. His frame was slight; most people over looked his cat like stealth and easy movements.

"This base is operational." She gave him one of her tiny smiles. "Also the ZBC has finally approved your use of the Berserk Fury. I think they are trying to cover up the fact that they never had anything to stand on the first time they took you off. They said if you are going to fight, you should at least be able to do it will rules."

Vega shot her a half smirk. "Afraid I might go back to the back draft group?" he shook his head. "They wanted to destroy Fury, or else I might have considered it. They paid well, but no one destroys this Zoid unless I say so."

Sarah nodded. "Now that you have been approved what are your plans?"

Vega ran a hand through his shoulder length locks. "I think I am going to assemble a team."

Sarah gave him a surprised look. "A team? All you need is the Fury."

Vega nodded. "That's true. I think I have proved that I can take any number of Zoids on, but Fury and I both agree its time to broaden our horizons. By forming a team I get to exchange tactics with people I can trust and have the benefit of someone covering my tail," Vega smirked again. "Not that I need it."

Sarah looked at him, nodding her head. "Who were you going to ask?"

Vega turned his full brown eyes on her. "Stoller for one."

Sarah's eyebrows shot up. "The Elephander? Vega it's so slow." 

Vega nodded. "But it has excellent combat capabilities. It will be a wonderful distraction to those who fear its reputation. It may be slow but there are ways to get out that. Besides Stoller had been doing well in A class, but by himself. I think he would like a new idea."

Sarah sighed. "It may take heavy damages against teams like the Lighting Team."

Vega shook his head. "I managed to defeat the Lightning Team by myself. I don't think speed is going to be a problem. Tactics are what wins battles."

Sarah shook her head. "You still need speed. Tactics are not when wins all battles. You need Zoids that can move quickly and with accuracy. Pilots that can think on their feet, and I do agree that although Stoller is slow, he will make a good member. I just think that quick thinking is also a factor. And what about air combat? The Berserk Fury and the Elephander, if Stoller agrees, is not enough."

He looked at her thoughtfully, a knowing look in his gaze. "Oh no, not Pierce."

Vega gave her a small smile. "And why not? She has an excellent grasp on all aircraft's and is an excellent tactician, so even if we don't need air support she is a good choice. Plus she had flown everything from a Pteres to a Zabat. Word on the street is she still has the Storm Sorter Dr. Layon gave her and has modified it to her taste. I don't see anything wrong with that choice."

Sarah gave him a look. "She had a reputation for insubordination and has had something on and off with that Blitz team flyer…. Jamie or the Wild Eagle, or whatever he calls himself."

Vega smiled again, this time a real smile, without any hesitation.

"Then she will have information on the enemy."

Sarah sighed. "The Blitz team is still in S class. We are in A class. How do you plan on getting a battle?"

Vega shrugged." Do you really think its going to take that long to get to S class with this lineup?"

Sarah crossed her arms. "You still need one more player. Like you said you won't always need Pierce, again if she agrees, and if you are in a high-speed battle you will need someone to help you keep up. The Berserk Fury is good, and so are you, but you are going to need time to become a team again. And may I remind you the Fury is not back to operational yet.  Plus once you do go against the Blitz team, you are going to need someone to either take on the Shadow Fox, which has become better, or the Gunsniper, which also improved. I think you have run out of Back Draft resources. So who else do you know?"

Vega frowned and then his face cleared. "Kyria."

Sarah frowned. "Who?'

Vega shot her a quirky smile. "You contact Stoller, I will contact Pierce."

"Vega!" Sarah called.

He turned. 

"What are you going to call this team?" Sarah demanded.

The Fury took that moment to roar a sound, which echoed through the souls of her feet. Vega nodded to the beast. "I couldn't agree more. The Fury Team it is."

~*~

Stoller leaned back against the back of the seat, his wale king high in the air, his expression conveying his annoyance.

"I am becoming wearied by this continuous game." He whispered looking at the screen, watching the repairs of the Elephander once again. 

It seemed like his winning streak was never going to end, but that was of course optimistic. His next match was against the Fugal Team, and Naomi and Leon were going to be difficult. Naomi, if she was smart, was going to let Leon pull him into combat and then take him out.

That was the most obvious solution.

But there were many others, which they could imply, all which more than likely would mean the end of his precious Zoid's ability to fight in the rest of that battle.

Who knew exactly what was going to happen every battle, but he was growing weary of it. The same teams over and over again, most were beyond predictable, and the reason he had joined the ZBC, Bit Cloud, was still beyond his reach.

 So far he had only managed to add to his every present bank account. Not that it mattered, when he had been part of the Back Draft group he had insisted that he have an account that was hidden that they transfer his funds to after each battle he won for them. From there he transferred a good sum of it to another account, and so when the Back Draft fell, he was still wealthy.

The ZBC did not pay a fourth of what he made after each battle with the Back Draft, but the honor he had worked so hard to gain remand. It was, perhaps, the only thing that kept him from it.

Sometimes he wished he still had a team of reliable members to fall back on, but that was near impossible.

The Vid Phone took that moment to ring out. Reaching over he activated the screen. He wondered who was calling and how they got the number.

Stoller blinked at Sarah in surprise. "Sarah, what do you want?"

Sarah looked at him blankly with the same coldness that had made her legendary in the Back Draft. "Stoller." She commented without answering his question. "I here things are going well for you."

Stoller shrugged. "Well but boring." He figured there was no harm in letting her see his boredom. It was common knowledge that he was bored easily.

"Thinking about joining up with the new Back Draft organization they are trying to reform."

Stoller frowned. "I was not even aware they were trying to reform. I thought for sure though that they would have least been down another year or so."

Sarah shook her head. "As long as they have pilots who chaff under regulations they will have an organization."

"To true." Stoller commented, his own expression taking on a tinge of weariness. He was not going to argue with her about the finer points of why young people joined the Back Draft. Money, opportunities, sometimes it was even less.

"But I am not here to try and recruit you for the Back Draft." Sarah told him blandly. "I have a totally different proposition."

Stoller looked at her, a hint of surprise to his face. "Then what is your proposition?"

Sarah smiled. "How would you like to join the team Vega and I are putting together?"

Stoller leaned back in shock. "You have the Berserk Fury repaired?"

Sarah shook her head. "It's almost finished, a few more months at the most, but Vega has decided that he wants a team to fight along side."

Stoller frowned. "I won't be your pawn again Sarah."

Sarah shook her head. "This is Vega's decision. I even offered a complaint and he said he wanted you. So, what do you say, are you going to join us or do we fine someone else? I know you are bored with you life, the lack of enthusiasm in your battle is apparent."

Stoller remained silent. 

Sarah laced her hands together and rested her chin on them. "Think of it this way Stoller, Vega is not going to want to stay in Class A for very long. The Royal Cup is in little over eight months. Vega will be going into Class S, if only to find Bit Cloud. Do you want to be apart of that or not?"

Stoller sighed. "I hold the right to leave at any time." 

Sarah nodded. "We would like for you to keep the Whale King so we have transportation, and you may keep the one who follows you around…I don't recall his name. But we would ask that you loose all the personal that you don't need. The location to the base is being kept as secret as possible. The fact is that the upcoming Back Draft is going to cause a lot of problems, and they are going to want the Berserk Fury either under their power, or destroyed. Vega won't let either, and the risk is high."

Stoller nodded. "This I can understand. It will also serve as hiding for myself."

Sarah nodded. "Here are the coordinates, and Stoller, you and Vega are not the only ones who are going to be hiding."

Stoller watched the screen go blank. "Who else could want to hide from the Back Draft?"

~*~

Pierce sat eating lunch ideally scanning over the documents that her boss had sent her to analyze. She helped to run a Zoid analyze center. It helped to prove the finer points of Zoid running. Of course her boss did not listen to her anyway and had put her in ground Zoids, much to her dismay, but at least it was work.

And it helped to pay for the changes she had made to her precious Storm Sorter. It reached levels of Mock 6 easily and its most powerful weapon was its Sonic Boom. But it also came with four hydraulic missiles and a power gun mounted on its chest. None of the changed she had made compromised the speed of the Sorter, and that was the way she liked it.

Dogfights were about skill, not the best weaponry.

Looking down she noticed a new email, from a source she did not know. Frowning she opened it up. 

_Look behind you._

Turning she caught a pair of brown eyes surrounded by blue-black hair and her eyes widened. Everyone in the Back Draft, who had been or was new to, knew about Vega Obscura. The question was what he wanted with her.

Watching him walk over was disconcerting to say the least. There were two things to which he could want to say to her. One being that the Back Draft wanted her back and he was here to make sure she went. But the rumors had it the Back Draft was still trying to find him.

Option two was that the rumors were true about him forming up a team and that the ZBC had let him in. She had mixed emotions about both of the options. 

Vega sat himself down at the table and looked at the green haired lady in front of him.

"Pierce." His tone was low and almost drowned out by the sound of the restaurant.

Pierce raised a brow. "Vega." Her tone was just as low. 

Vega leaned foreword, resting his elbows on the table in front of him. His expression was as sharp as Pierce remembered. She had once been brought in to explain tactical moves when dealing with air combat.

"I bet you have heard the rumors?" Vega questioned.

Pierce raised her tea to her mouth and took a small sip. "Which ones? The one were you are joining the Back Draft and out fixing to dominate the world, or the one where the ZBC has decided to let you fight."

Vega allowed a look of satisfaction to cross his face. "The one where I am joining the ZBC."

Pierce nodded. "Rumor has it you are forming a team, although the members are quite a mystery."

Vega quirked a grin at her. "That's true."

Pierce nodded again and dunked a cold French fry into her ketchup.  "And what does that have to do with me, Vega?"

Vega gave her a calculating look. "I want you to come on and be my air specialist."

"You do?" Pierce quipped, her tone dry.

Vega laughed at that. "Yes I do."

Pierce leaned forward. "I am not stupid Vega. You know that I have been seeing Jamie on and off, and if this is just a ploy to get information on the Blitz team, you can forget it. I don't care how bad I want to be in the air."

Vega gave her a searching look. "If you want to fight in the air so bad then why don't you join the Blitz, I know that they have offered."

Pierce snorted. "And be on the same team with the only competition I have? Besides, that would put me to close to him anyway. I am trying to let him grow up somewhat."

Vega nodded. "This is not a ploy Pierce. First we have to make it into Class S, which honestly is not going to be that hard. Second of all, it's going to be a long road till we get there, so if I wanted information on the Blitz team then I would have waited till later to contact you."

Pierce gave him a look. "This is not going to be all about revenge is it? Because I have been there and done that, and don't want to do it again."

Vega shook his head. "I can't promise that it won't be part of the strategy at some point, but I just want to fight. I have always just wanted to fight. I have no hard feelings for Bit Cloud. I want to beat him, but I don't want to kill him. Understand?"

Pierce nodded. "Alright, I will join. This job is getting old anyway."

Vega laughed again. "Here is the coordinates that will get you to the base. Stoller is also joining us and will have a whale king for transportation."

Pierce looked surprise. "What is this, a Back Draft reunion?"

Vega shook his head. "There is one more person, and she is not Back Draft."

Pierce looked at him interested. "Who is it?"

Vega looked away. "A friend."

~*~

Vega entered the repair shop with apprehensive look on his features. Sarah had made it more than clear that she wanted to have more speed than what was already on the table, and he did agree with her reasons.

Speed was a good thing but not always the most effective. Last time he checked Zoids like the Elephander, and the Panzer unit where still some of the most coveted on the market. Bit got full efficiency out of his slow unit and Stoller knew how to hide his own Zoids weaknesses. 

Looking around he finally found what he was looking for, a pair of small shoed feet underneath a six ton Zoid, and a pair of what seemed to be overall bottoms falling on top.

Walking over he waited till she came out. The worst thing he could do was make her loose her concentration. Doing so would more than likely cause her to hurl a wrench at him, and last time she had done so she had nailed him directly under the temple.

Kyria was perhaps one of the few people in his young life who new who he was and made a point to get on his nerves. When he finally confronted her about it she had laughed and said she hated following the grain.

Vega spent most of his younger days in this very shop, learning how to repair Zoids, learning how to repair abused ones, and where to find the best parts. Kyria was his age and had let him know that under not circumstances was he the King he thought he was.

And they had somehow formed a friendship.

Kyria's looks were not pretty in any definition of the word. She had pale ash colored hair and pale skin which gave her a slightly washed out look. Her lips were a shade to thin and her eyes a hair to large. She had a scar running from the left corner of her eyes down to mid cheek. 

But her personality made up for her lack of looks. She was vibrant and out going, and always let a person know exactly what she was thinking. 

She was also a damn good expert on high speed battles. Her first Zoid had been a Hell Cat, but she said that although it was a good Zoid, and its invisibility cloak gave a good advantage, she did not want to have to rely on that cloak to get herself out of a hairy situation.

So instead she traded in for a Lighting Saix. She learned everything about the fast Zoids as she could. Knew every battle strategy, every move, and every point that could increase its speed. But she never gave any serious thoughts to battling. She laughed off anyone's teasing and told them she had a hobby. A sick one, but a hobby. 

Kyria had always wanted a Zoid, not always wanted to fight with a Zoid. There was a difference, which was why Vega was worried. He had no idea if he could talk her into joining his team. Last time he had talked to her she had been happy making repairs and cleaning up other people's 'stupidity.'

Kyria shoved herself out from under the Zabat she had been working on and visibly started when she saw Vega.

"What are you doing here?" Kyria demanded. Her hair and clothing was streaked with grease, and her fist tight knuckled around a wrench.

Vega looked at her with his calm brown eyes and smiled. "I have a proposition for you."

Kyria gave him a look. "So you _are putting a team together." Her tone was off hand as she grabbed a stained cloth and attempted to remove some of the grease from her clothing and hands._

"Yes."

"And you want me to join the team because Sarah wants more speed." Kyria's tone was slightly sarcastic.

"Partly."

Kyria shook her head. "I don't think so. You know I like repairing Zoids just fine."

Vega leaned up against a Zoid and placed his hands behind his head. "Come on, the Royal Cup is in eight months, and then we get to move up to a real challenge. And I know you like working on Zoids, and this will be a way for you to see how Zoids work on the battle field. That will help with your expertise on Zoids now won't it?" Vega pressed.

Kyria pursed her lips. "Take me to dinner and I will think about it." She grinned at his surprised face. "I figure I might as well get a free meal out of this argument."

Vega laughed and nodded. "We could really use your expertise, not only on ground Zoids, but on repairs, because we are going to have to have them."

Vega and Kyria walked out of the dinner with hot dogs and a soft drink. "Tell me Vega, what made you decide to have a team?"

Vega gave her a surprised look. "Is it really hard to believe that I would want to have a team? Everyone is making a big deal out of a small situation."

Kyria snorted. "Let's recap here. The only reason you did not take over the ZBC is because of the Blitz team. You destroyed as many teams as any one man team ever has. You have, in my opinion, a potential that goes unmatched. Why burden yourself with people that could help or hinder you."

Vega thoughtfully chewed his hot dog and shrugged. "I think part of it is Sarah. She raised me like a kid, and I did not appreciate it at the time. When I was younger it was all about the battles, making them interesting. No one could stand up to the Fury and me except an Ultimate X. But I was beat, not by just Bit Cloud, but by the whole team."

Kyria snorted. "He is the one that defeated you."

Vega shook his head. "No, that not correct. Take the Shadow Fox for one. He distracted me to the point that bit had time to move back into his original armor. Leena could have left at any point and made it to the finish line, but she stayed to help. To them it was defeating there opponent, not just winning. I want someone who I can fall back on when I need assistance. If I had a team member when I was 12 then I would have taken out the ZBC."

Kyria slowly sipped on her drink. "Is that what you are doing, forming a team that can take over the ZBC?"

Vega shook his head. "Even when I was younger, it was not about the Back Draft, or Zoid Battle Commission, it was about the battles. I have no plans to ever try something like again. They have revoked my right to fight once; I don't want to loose it for good this time."

Kyria shook her head. "Even if the Backdraft offered you a position, a substance raise, and a hell of lot more interesting competition, you are saying you would not go?"

Vega looked at her thoughtfully. "Why so interested?"

Kyria looked at him with grave eyes. There large smoky-grey colored was dark with emotions. "Vega, when you are part of a team its not just you who your decisions effect. If I give up my life here, I want to know that I don't have to worry about something like that. We may never make it to S Class and you may never fight Bit Cloud. But I will not be part of the Back Draft. I just want to be sure I will never have to choose between my friends and my morals."

Vega looked at the desert for a long moment. "I promise Kyria, that I will not join up with the Back Draft just to beat the Blitz team and to make it into Class S."

Kyria nodded and smash her trash. It was, for now, the most she could get out of him. "All right then. I will join with you. If just to hold you to that promise."

Vega chuckled at that. "I am sure you will."

Kyria looked around. "What did you come in? If you give me a moment to quit and load up my Lighting Saix then I will give you a ride to your base. I figure I might as well move in now."

Vega looked surprised. "You don't have anything you need to pack?"

Kyria shook her head. "I stay in the carrier now a day. Makes it easier and I don't have to pay rent."

Vega nodded and followed her back to her hanger.

~*~

Sarah turned around when Vega and Kyria walked in. "Kyria I am glad you decided to join us after all."

Vega looked at Sarah suspiciously. "What are you talking about; I thought you did not know who Kyria was?"

Sarah smiled her small half smile. "I called her before I called Stoller."

Vega narrowed his gaze. "So that's how you knew I was putting together a team."

Kyria nodded." Of course, but I did not except until I talked to you. I was only distracting you."

Vega shook his head. "Distracting me from what?"

Sarah smiled again. "Follow me Vega."

Vega walked behind Sarah into the hanger and froze.  The Fury was 100% finished. He was still missing his armor, but now he could fight.

"Sarah and I have been going over Layon's plans for the armor, and I am pretty sure I can reproduce most of the components. I have quite a bit in savings and I am willing to lend it to you to find some of the harder parts. And worst comes to wear I can just redesign the whole bloody thing myself." Kyria told him. Her eyes twinkled at being able to pull off the surprise.

"When did you get to look at the plans?" Vega questioned, his mind slowly processing what he had been told.

Kyria smiled. "Sarah sent them when she was talking to me. She started off the conversation asking if I could reproduce this armor. I recognized the Fury and questioned her. She told me that I could expect you coming by later and that you were putting a team together. That was all. I honestly thought that you would just want to talk about that plans. But I figured you did not know by the way we talked so I left the surprise tell know. I also offered to give you a ride to slow you down that much more."

Vega turned around and grabbed Sarah swinging her around. "This was the best thing you could give me, Sarah. The chance to fight again."

Sarah allowed a small chuckle. "You earned it for yourself, Vega. I just once again was given the opportunity to give it to you."

Vega turned to the Fury. "Ready to go partner?" His eyes gleamed with a hidden energy, and he could not wait till they got there first battle assignment.

The Fury arched its back and roared.

Next time: The Blitz teams hear's about the Fury team. What will Jamie's reaction be to fighting Pierce once again? And what about this new Backdraft group? Will the Fury team be able to work together, or will differences pull them apart?


End file.
